Providers – Getting Started & Next Steps

Inpatient health care, hospice care, and hospital stays are part of the coverage of Medicare Plan A which will be the focus of the discussion below. Medicare is something that the government has initiated to help those who are qualified by meeting some criteria in shouldering their health care needs. Medicare is a help to qualified individuals who are in need of health care in order for them to be able to shoulder the medical costs. Medicare Part A is part of the original Medicare package which is a government funded insurance coverage which can be used for home health services, nursing home facilities, hospice, inpatient hospital stay, and non medical health care institutions that are affiliated with a religious association.

Here are the requirements to qualify for insurance coverage from Medicare Part A. The individual must be over the age of 65; If a person has a qualifying disability but has not reached the eligible age of 65; and those who are in the end stage of a terminal kidney disease.

If you are working on a job and you are being deduced monthly for Medicare taxes, then there is no Medicare Part A premium to pay. And if your wife’s salary is also being deducted for Medicare taxes, then it also holds true – no premiums. An individual who is over 65 and you qualify by meeting certain citizenship requirements then you can also take advantage of Medicare Part A for a cost. Medicare Part A can be bought by those who are over 65 and disabled but can no longer get it for free if they were able to go back to work in some capacity. Medicare part B must be purchased by those who purchase Medicare Part A for a monthly premium.

On your 65th birthday, on the first day of that month, your Medicare coverage will automatically begin, as long as you are collecting social security or benefits from the Railroad Retirement Board. You Medicare card will arrive via mail 3 months before your 65th birthday.

For those suffering disability and are under 65, you gain eligibility for Medicare Part A 2 years into receiving social security disability benefits or RRB benefits. You Medicare card will be mailed to you on the first month of the third year. The moment they start receiving social security disability benefits, individual who suffer from Amyotrophic Later Sclerosis gets immediately eligible for Medicare Part A.

If you are eligible for Medicare Part A but you don’t receive RRB benefits if you were a railroad employee or you have social security benefits, then you should enroll for it. You can find out how to enroll from the social security office 3 months prior to your 65th birthday.